


Flying too close to the sun

by ragnehild



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28326966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragnehild/pseuds/ragnehild
Summary: They made it. Takemura swiftly grabbed V's legs, helping Viktor get her out of the cab and into the clinic, but after merely a few steps he could feel her limp body slipping away, the weight suddenly too much for him to bear. As darkness crept up from the edges of his vision, the last words he heard before slipping into the void kept ringing in his head.'That your blood?'
Comments: 11
Kudos: 66





	Flying too close to the sun

**Author's Note:**

> This is not technically a missing scene, the game being from V's perspective, but I just couldn't stop thinking about the interactions between Viktor and Takemura after he *checks notes* rolled into Vik's clinic in an AI operated cab, dragging half-dead V with him. Hence, this fic. Enjoy!

For a second he didn’t know where he was. The ceiling didn’t look anything like the dark, stoic marble of Konpeki Plaza he remembered, instead covered with an intricate pattern of pipes and wires, constantly shifting like a pit of snakes. Some were pitch black, the others silvery, as if freshly replaced, contrasting with copper, rust bitten metal of those that threatened to give at any moment. A groan escaped Takemura’s lips and he closed his eyes again, the way the ceiling swayed making him feel nauseous. When he opened them again, he had to blink a few times, but it hardly did anything to stall the way his surroundings seemed to dance in front of his eyes.

He moved slightly, only to discover how heavy his body felt. He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes once more and let his consciousness drift away, but the events of the last few hours were catching up with him, tearing their way through the fog of medication that he no doubt was on a generous dose of. He didn’t feel any pain, just the grogginess that made him feel weak, slow. Vulnerable. 

Soft beeping of medical equipment, accompanied by a hum of computers and the quiet creak of metal. Takemura turned his head and saw the ripperdoc, Viktor, sitting at his desk, hunched over that mechanical hand of his, wielding a screwdriver the way a virtuoso would wield a bow. Takemura tried to sit, prop himself up on his forearms at least, but a wave of nausea hit him with such force that the only thing he could do was lay back and force himself to take slow, deep breaths. He refused to embarrass himself any further by vomiting all over Viktor’s floor. It was enough that he couldn’t be of more use when Delamain finally got them here. He started feeling dizzy much earlier, all too aware of the warm wetness soaking his shirt during the painstakingly long ride to Viktor’s clinic, but all he did was clench his teeth, like so many times before, adrenaline dulling the pain and pushing him forward. It was enough to allow him to fully concentrate on following the AI’s instructions, all his focus aimed at not allowing his hand to slip when cutting through V’s neck to expose the neural wiring. There was wisdom in knowing when to back away and his body was determined to remind him of that, but he was convinced that if he had allowed himself to pass out back then, his last chance of restoring his honor would be gone. The world would carry on convinced that it was him, Goro Takemura, who has betrayed Saburo-dono, murdering him in cold blood. He couldn’t let it stand. Such a lie coming out of the real murderer’s mouth was even more sickening. What started out as a lawful task of bringing Saburo’s killer to Yorinobu quickly spiraled into a sickening realization that the son’s hatred for his father ran way deeper than he’s ever dared to presume. Then again, even if he had his reservations about the supposed poisoning, he wouldn’t dare to openly question Yorinobu before. Under the weight of an Arasaka’s gaze, he could only bow and obey. 

That changed the moment the death squad showed up. To his terror, Takemura finally understood that he had been fooled, his loyalty fiercely turned against him. A blade driven straight through his heart.

The crack of leather and a sudden change in his breathing seemed to have caught the ripper’s attention. When Takemura allowed himself to get lost in thought, piecing together recent events, the man appeared right beside him, a heavy, warm hand on his shoulder, gently holding him down. 

‘Hey, easy there’ Viktor said.

‘I have to…’ for a brief moment Takemura wasn’t sure what it was he had to do. He could feel his thoughts slipping away, tangling into an illegible mess. That is, until he let his eyes travel through the room and land on V, unmoving on a bed opposite to where the chair he was lying on was.

‘What you have to do is lie back down.’ Viktor urged. ‘You’ve lost a fair amount of blood, going too fast ain't gonna end well.’

‘I have had worse’ Takemura muttered. 

‘No doubt, but I think it’s safe to assume that you had implants helping you stay upright. Most, if not all of them seem to have been remotely deactivated, and with the amount of ‘em you have, it must be hard to go cold turkey.’

‘To go what?’ he asked, wondering if he had hit his head on the way down to the ground. What does a bird have to do with their conversation?

A faint smirk went through Viktor’s lips. 

‘Imagine you’re feeling pretty shitty right now.’ Takemura had a hunch that the doctor wasn’t talking only about his physical wellbeing. News travels fast in Night City and Yorinobu must’ve issued an updated statement already, informing the world about Takemura’s fall from grace. 

‘You imagine correctly’ Takemura muttered, putting his arm over his eyes to dull the unusually bright glow of the neon lights on the edges of his vision. ‘What about V? Is she alright?’

‘She’s alive. Made it through surgery, but it’s too early to tell what’s coming for her next. I’m keepin’ an eye on her, don’t worry. You’re both in good hands. Now, you should get some more sleep, we can talk some more later.’ 

‘I can’t stay..’ he started, but Viktor swiftly cut him off, as if he knew what Takemura was about to say.

‘Don’t worry, nobody knows you’re here. I can’t guarantee it stays that way for long, though, so you might as well make the best of it. It ain’t gonna be easy for you out there, buddy.’

Takemura didn’t hear that last sentence. He allowed himself to drift away. 

***

‘This one should fit you, more or less. Might be a bit loose around the arms, though’ the ripperdoc handed him a white button-up, a bit wrinkled as if it’s been sitting in the closet for a while and hasn’t seen an iron for an even longer period of time. Takemura wasn’t one to complain, though, and so he accepted the gift, glad he had something not far from his actual clothes. 

‘Neither your old shirt nor the jacket could be salvaged, I’m afraid. Couldn’t get the blood out.’ 

‘Thank you. I am indebted to you’ 

‘Listen, I usually don’t turn people away, especially when they show up bleedin’ at my door. You saved V’s life, I saved yours. The debt‘s all paid.’

‘If you say so’ Takemura wasn’t convinced, but even if he wanted to, he didn’t have an eddy to his name, no way to pay the good doctor back for his trouble. 

The shirt was indeed a little too big, but it’d be rude to further comment on that. 

‘You’re healing up nicely, but I still have to remove the stitches in a few days, so make sure to drop by. Any ripper in the city could do that, but I’m afraid they’re gonna charge you. As for the implants...it might feel odd for the next few days, but give your body time to adapt. At least you’re not pukin’ your brains out anymore.’

‘Yeah.’

‘I’ll text you when she wakes up, but I’d rather you didn’t bother her right away. She has a lot to process, no need to add more to her plate, no matter how pressing it might seem to you. 

Takemura bit his tongue. ‘I understand.’ 

‘If it’s any consolation, you’ll quickly find out that the easiest thing a person can do in Night City is to disappear.'


End file.
